The Adventures of The Iron Monger
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Stane has successfully reverse-engineered the Iron Man suit, and in the process, discovered Iron Man's identity! Tony finds himself in a real sticky situation as this new threat-the Iron Monger-puts countless attacks on NYC. What will become of the hero?
1. Stane Gets A Suit?

**Ha-heyyy! Wasupp, my peeps? I got this idea while googling info on IMAA season 2. Unfortunately, it doesn't air until fall of this year. But, according to the site I was looking at, there's going to be 26 episodes, PLUS the return of MODOK and Technovore! LIKE OMG! I'm so excited! Check out this site for more info I found! .com/2010/03/02/iron-man-armored-adventures-renewed-for-a-second-season/**

Tony, slouching in his seat, sighed with boredom as he failed to listen to the physics lesson being given. He knew this already, why waist precious time listening to something he already knew? And, he wasn't in any sort of mood to listen to some teacher anyways. There was another, more important matter to deal with. His last encounter as Iron Man got him in some serious trouble.

He'd listened in on police scanners to hear that there was an emergency at Stark International. A couple workers were trapped in a second-floor storage room because some containers of metal had fallen over, thus blocking the exit. When Iron Man got there, however, he'd discovered that the only one trapped and in trouble now, was him….

Stane had set the whole thing up, as a trap to capture Iron Man. Although Stane had failed, he'd given Iron Man one quite fair warning…

"_You may have gotten away this time, Iron Man, but you've forgotten something. Your suit of armor is being analyzed every second you're in this building, and in case you've forgotten, you've been in here plenty more than this time. Ta ta." _Tony heard the words bounce in his head. Stane had a good point. Out of all the times Iron Man had been in Stark International, they were able to get a lot of data out of his suit. He really had to be more careful, and he was afraid that Stane would be able to reverse-engineer the suit; it would be a less advanced one, no doubt, but it would still be a pretty darn good one.

"Tony? Tony! You _know _you have to pay attention, right? I mean, even if you _do _know all of this, you should pay attention before you get in trouble!" Pepper whispered to Tony. Tony snapped out of his state of thought and soaked in Pepper's words of warning.

"I don't need to listen, and I'm not in the mood for listening right now." Tony answered, simply. Pepper grunted under her breath; Tony could be so stubborn sometimes. She hated the way he just tuned her out whenever he didn't want to listen to her. Then she'd ask if he was listening, and he'd grunt back a 'yeah, yeah.' Simply. It was getting annoying.

"Tony, you've been tuning me out for way too long now. Care to tell me why you're getting moody?" Pepper asked, as the bell rang.

"Pepper, I'm fine. And I'm not tuning you out." Tony answered. Partially, that was a lie; he only half listened to her. And he certainly wasn't fine.

"Now for the real story? Come on Tony, something's obviously bothering you." Rhodey nagged.

"Fine. It's just Stane...based on all the times Iron Man has visited Stark International, he's been able to scan a lot of information out of me. He could reverse engineer his own suit; or worse, figure out my identity." Tony explained.

"Tony, I doubt that." But Rhodey didn't know how wrong he was…

Inside the labs of Stark International stood Stane, and a bunch of other men in white lab coats and goggles (as eye protection,) who were bent over a table.

"And, based on all the information we've collected, we can reverse-engineer at least down to the advanced computer systems inside it. We've collected a lot of information, but sir…" One of the scientists explained.

"What? What is it?" Stane demanded.

"The only person I know who could have possibly thought of a properly functioning suit of technologically advanced suit of armor is Tony Stark." The scientist explained. Stane smiled deviously and put his hand to his chin in thought.

"Hmm. Interesting…" Stane said, mysteriously and mischievously.

"Gentlemen, let's get to work." Stane ordered.

"I've got an idea."

Tony walked to his locker miserably. It was his free period, and he didn't see the point of keeping his books with him. He plopped them in his locker, parted ways with Rhodey as they went to their separate classes, and walked off to the roof with Pepper. She was in a hyper, talkative mood today—more so than usual, that is. He listened as her soothing voice went on and on about her dad's latest task, and how he wouldn't let her have a weapon. Not even a tear gas grenade! As if she would cause destruction in the clutches of one. Pshhh!

The view of the city from the roof of the school, however, didn't make Tony feel any better. Right in mid-air, floated a silver suited….man? Tony only wasted a minute gawking before he grabbed Pepper by the hand and raced to the armory. He quickly suited up inside the half-repaired, half-damaged armory and flew out. Pepper called the armor from her headpiece and raced back to the school to get Rhodey.

Once Iron Man was at the scene, he saw the silver suited man just floating there, calmly.

"Who are you? What are you, and what are you doing here?" Iron Man questioned.

"Oh, just waiting for you." The silver man answered calmly, in a voice that seemed vaguely familiar to Tony. Who was inside that suit? Suddenly, Tony got the idea.

"STANE?! Is that _you_?" Iron Man belted.

"Precisely, Iron Man. Or, in the case we're being a bit more formal; I'll call you Tony Stark."

Tony was speechless.

**Well, that's quite dramatic! Awoop woop! Teehee! Who is this mysterious silver floating man? How does he know Tony's identity? You probably all know! I'll give you a hint: the inspiration for this story was the info I was researching on season 2. Review!**


	2. The Iron Monger

**Hey! Sorry it's been a while. I was sick on Friday, and Saturday I went to my cousins house and today I was at my grandma's until not too long ago! So now's the free time I've got!**

"How did he figure out my identity?" Tony asked himself as he paced the armory.

"It's been impossible for anyone else to figure out so far, so how does he get it? And more importantly, how did he get that kind of suit?" Tony asked. He was really close to going to Stane himself and demanding answers. It was something he needed to know.

"And not to mention that after the Project Pegaus, when they captured Iron Man they got the schematics on my suit…they could've given it to Stane. And all the times I was inside Stark International as Iron Man…it's no wonder they have a lower-tech version of my suit. Oh man…" Tony answered himself.

"Dude, you have to calm down. It is less advanced than yours, right? So what's the problem?" Rhodey tried calming.

"Yeah, but it can still do some good damage!" Tony answered. Rhodey had nothing more to offer as support, **(A/N: mainly because I don't,) **and silently watched his friend.

Suddenly, an alert went off that there was someone attacking downtown. Tony looked to see it was Stane again, in his copied suit. Tony rushed to his armor and flew downtown.

"Maybe I can get him to back down and hand over the suit." Tony assured himself.

"Stane! If you back down now I _won't _hurt you!" Iron Man warned. Stane turned around and laughed.

"By now it's easier to call me by the name of Iron Monger. At least, when i'm in this suit." Monger smiled devilishly. Tony grew angrier.

"And as for your 'attack immediately' tactic, I find it just as easy to go to the public and reveal your identity. And we both know you don't want that." Stane warned. It only made Tony even angrier.

"You hand over that suit right now!" Tony demanded, just below a yell.

"Ahh, but it's not that easy." Monger said, then charged at Tony. Tony braced himself for the impact by preparing his lasers. He fired them at Monger, and a fight broke out. Crowds gathered, watching in awe at the strange, new and mysterious villain. They didn't know what to call the strange villain, or what it could do, or anything. Just that it was a threat to Iron Man, and so that made it bad. They gasped as Iron Man went flying backwards and into a building, but sighed in relief when he got up and attacked the new villain. They cheered as the new…thing was sent flying, a building behind it breaking its fall.

After several more punches, kicks, and laser firings later, Iron Man had finally managed to scare away Stane; at least for now. Tony knew he'd be back several more times, and each time would be worse. Each time he came back, he'd have something new to pin against Tony. Something new to try and stop Iron Man with. But none of them, Tony told himself, would work. Nothing would stop him from exposing Stane for the villain he truly is. Then something struck him; something he hadn't thought of before.

Should he tell Whitney about her dad?

It was something it would be nice for her to know, but would she believe him? Was it even worth the sadness that could come from her? The way he saw it, he wouldn't tell her he was Iron Man, but he'd tell her that her father was the Iron Monger? Or, what if she already knew? What if he'd told Whitney already? The questions made their way to the back of his head and he forgot about them.

Upon return to the armory, he felt exhausted. He felt it time to get something to eat, or a little sleep. When he got out of the armor, he saw that Rhodey was sitting at his station, and Pepper peeking over his shoulder; like usual. They turned their attention back to their tired friend.

"Man, that one was close." Rhodey said.

"Yeah. I'm exhausted." Tony answered.

"I can't believe that's Stane! I mean, how did he get his hands on a suit like that? Didn't you already know that he was evil even before Iron Man existed? And how did he get your identity?" Pepper blabbed.

"He got the schematics for my armor and was able to reverse-engineer his own suit, but it's not as powerful as mine. He got my identity because of all the times Iron Man had to be in the building." Tony explained.

"That totally stinks!" Pepper said. Tony nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Pepper asked. Tony shook his head.

"I really don't know. He can just give away my identity to the whole city at the snap of a finger. My career as Iron Man could be over just like that." Tony answered. The three walked out of the armory and back to Tony's room.

"And it brings me back to something else I need to start doing…" Tony said, sitting down on his bed. He removed his shirt and plugged in his charger.

"Look for my dad." Tony hadn't any luck tracking Gene or any signs of his father so far. His computers were tracking Gene's cell phone signal, and his makluan energy symbol, but nothing had shown up. Nothing at all. It was getting depressing.

"But hey, look at the bright side: summer vacation is coming up!" Pepper squealed. Tony looked confused.

"Summer vacation? What's that?" Tony asked. Rhodey shook his head in disappointment.

"You _don't _know what _summer vacation is_?" Pepper squeaked.

"No. I don't." Tony answered.

"I can't believe it! You really don't know what it is! Well, summer vacation is where all the schools get two whole months off from school! Our school's last day is in about two and a half weeks, then we have then until September off from school! To do _anything we want!_ We can hang out all day every day any time we want and we can stay up late, which means you can pull a whole bunch of all-nighters in your lab, which isn't very healthy, you know? Especially on school nights, how can you not be tired the next day? I mean, during summer you'll have all day to sleep but still, everyone needs to enjoy summer. I mean, who doesn't, and-" Pepper babbled. She was finally stopped when Tony put his hand over her mouth.

"So we get a whole two months off to do nothing?" Tony asked. Pepper nodded. Tony removed his hand from her mouth.

"Wow. That's cool." Tony said. Pepper smiled and nodded.

"Then I'll have more time to work in the lab." Rhodey and Pepper sighed.

"You should spend less time in your lab, and more quality time with your friends, Tony!" Pepper smiled, hinting to Tony that she wanted to spend her summer getting closer with him. Tony smirked.

"You just want me to spend time with you." Tony teased. _Damn. He just read_ _my mind like a book. _Pepper thought to herself. She punched his arm playfully at the remark.

"Seriously, Tony, don't waste your summer working." Rhodey said.

"Fine, fine. I won't waste _all _of my summer in the lab." Tony said. Rhodey and Pepper rolled their eyes. They supposed it was better than wasting every day of summer working in a lab, away from all the sunny fun. New York City in the summer was a happy time.

**Wow. For once I didn't end a chapter on a cliffhanger. Impressive! Review! OH, OH, OH! Before I forget, here's the full link to that website I was talking about last chapter! .com/2010/03/02/iron-man-armored-adventures-renewed-for-a-second-season/** **if the full link doesn't show up, as in from the 'http' to the 'season/', then PM me and I'll try it there. KK? Review!**


	3. What's Summer Vacation?

**Hey people! Sudden blast of new stories hurr. Me likes them! Lolz. Arrrghhh! Lol! I feel random and hyper right now. Lol!**

Tony walked into the school, frazzled by the whole concept of just giving two whole months off.

"So, this summer vacation thing….we just don't go to school for two whole months?" Tony asked Rhodey, for the tenth time. And Rhodey _was _counting.

"For the last time Tony, yes! We have two months to totally forget all about school. And when we come back we'll be in a new grade." Rhodey explained, getting annoyed by his friend's lack of understanding.

Suddenly, Pepper bounced in happily and out of nowhere.

"Hey guys! Can you believe it's the last day of school _already_?" Pepper asked, startling her male friends and making them jump.

"Yeah, and since Stane got his own suit, it's been a constant battle. Now I'll have more free time to fight him." Tony complained. Each and every day, the Iron Monger would show up just to irritate Tony. Just to stress Tony out, which was far from what he needed right now, so he'd eventually lose his mind into deciding he didn't want anything to do with his father's company anymore, or anything at all for that matter. Stane just wanted to turn Tony into a lifeless hole, like a shell that has been hollowed out and stripped of the items inside it so it had nothing left for itself but grief and misery. That was all he wanted out of Tony. Total control of Stark International, forever.

"Tony, you promised me you wouldn't waste your summer working!" Pepper complained, giving Tony a pleading puppy-dog face. Tony hated it when she did that, because it made him weak-kneed and fuzzy inside. He didn't know why, but he did.

"Fine, I'll keep my promise." Tony sighed. It would be hard. Pepper squealed, and then the bell rang. It was time to get to class. The three walked to their homeroom class, which they had together, and Pepper wasted all of attendance talking about god knows what for the _longest _time. It annoyed Rhodey, but for some reason that was unknown to Tony, hearing her voice made him feel warm inside. Losing himself in the soft hum of her perky, bubbly voice go on and on, about what he would never know, made him feel like there was something deeper than this that they had together. But it was just a thought that popped into his head every time he heard her perky voice pop in.

After class started, Pepper knew she had to shut it. So, instead, she took her seat behind Tony and stared at the back of his head. It was so thick with that messy, chocolate brown hair; messy to the point it looked absolutely perfect. There was absolutely nothing about Tony she didn't completely adore, from his looks right down to his personality. She didn't just like him for his brains and money, like most people did; she liked him for the person she saw inside of him. She saw a poor, abandoned soul inside him that was just looking for a friend in the world that wasn't Rhodey. Rhodey was his closest friend, but he needed someone that he could have a deeper relationship with; someone to hold like family, someone to wrap his arms around to make him feel better when he was sad.

She knew that their relationship was special, because most girls that he'd gotten to know just flirted all over him like the pathetic and crazed fan-girls that they are. **(A/N: NO OFFENCE! I didn't mean to hurt any of my readers. I was referring to girls that see him as a celebrity and stuff, and squeal like mice when they see him n stuff.) **Like Whitney, for example. All Whitney ever did was try to fit Tony into her image, and her social status. She just tried to make him fit her description because he looked good and was seen as a good person, and he was rich. Pepper, herself, however, appealed to the friend within Tony. The good-natured, kind-spirited hero that he was. The gentlemen deep inside him. Tony could make her laugh at the most depressing moments of her life, and whenever they touched she felt a spark. Even if it was simply to wrap his arm around her shoulder, she felt lifted into the air like magic.

Pepper tried wrapping herself back into the lesson, but couldn't do it. Not when she was sitting behind such a dreamboat that Tony was. He was so distracting to her, in a good way of course, that it made it hard to pay attention to anything else when he was around. As usual, Tony wasn't paying attention. Most likely because they were in the middle of math class, and Tony figured that he was already a genius, so whatever work they got following he'd be able to ace in no time. Pepper rolled her eyes at his arrogance. The more arrogant he became, the funnier it made him. Just another thing about him that made her swoon…

The bell rang, indicating that class was over, and the three walked out of the classroom. The last day was always a half day, so after fifth period was over it was time to go home. Instead, however, they planned to go to the carnival that was in town at the boardwalks to celebrate their new freedom.

While Rhodey made one last stop at his locker and the bathroom, Tony and Pepper stood at the entrance to the school. Everyone else had ran out in excitement, so it was just Tony and Pepper, standing alone in an empty school.

"So…this is it." Tony said, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Yeah. This year went by so fast…first thing I know I'm meeting you, then before I know it…it's the last day." Pepper sighed.

"Well, time flies when you're having fun, I guess." Tony said.

"Tony…I'd have to say; out of everything that has happened to me this year…meeting you was my favorite." Pepper admitted. Tony smiled.

"Me too." He responded. Pepper smiled back. Then Pepper remembered something.

"Oh! You never signed my yearbook!" Pepper blurted out.

"Oh. Well, got a pen? I can do it now." Tony said. Pepper whipped a pen out of her bag and held it out for Tony to take. She felt his hand on hers as he grabbed the pen and clicked it. He snatched Pepper's yearbook from her hands and opened it to the front page. There were a ton of other messages on it, but Pepper had left the dead center of the page open just for Tony to sign. He scribbled something quickly on the page. When Pepper took back the book, she looked at what he had written.

_Pepper,_

_This message stands the test of time; it can never fade. The days we've spent together, they stand the test of true friendship. It also can never fade. No matter how far across the country you are, you hold a special place in my heart. Remember me always._

_Tony_

Pepper smiled. What he had written had warmed her heart. She had no idea in the slightest that Tony was such a poet. It was beautiful. It brought a tear to her eye, and she threw her arms around him. He smiled and returned the hug. Pepper looked up into his eyes and saw that soul deep inside him, the one that needed just a friend, someone to hold, and now saw that need quite satisfied. They separated, but looked into each other's eyes. They slowly leaned closer, until Rhodey came back.

"OK, ready to go?" Rhodey asked, clueless as to what had just happened between the two. They each took a step back and blushed furiously.

"U-Uhh, yeah. R-ready to go…" Tony answered. Pepper just nodded, speechless. She wished she'd gotten just one moment longer to be alone with him, then she'd have gotten the one thing that seemed to be what she had wanted all along.

The three walked out the doors of the Tomorrow Academy and towards the boardwalk.

"So, I've never been to a carnival before." Tony announced.

"Dude, really? You haven't ever been to one?" Rhodey asked. Tony shook his head.

"All I've ever done is invent stuff for my dad's company. We didn't have time for carnivals or fun and games." Tony explained.

"That is so sad. That's embarrassing! You and your dad _never_ had fun before?" Pepper asked.

"We had fun making stuff. Working was fun. That was our fun." Tony explained.

"Well, wait until you see what real fun is!" Pepper squeaked as they arrived at the carnival.

Little did they know, their fun would come to a sudden and abrupt stop, thanks to a certain armored foe…

**Badahhh! That chapter was PURE FLUFF. Wow. Cute though, right? I had the idea and I couldn't let it go! But I came back to the drama in the last sentence there…sort of a cliffhanger, but not much of one. Review?**


	4. Her Perfect Day

**Hey peoples of earth! Ahh, I can't believe season 2 isn't until 2011! That's so dumb, why would they have us wait that long? I thought it was coming in fall! WTF! Arggghhh…I so mad now!**

As Tony, Rhodey and Pepper walked further along the boardwalks at the pier, approaching the carnival, they noticed there was a bit of a long line at the entrance.

"Well, it's not too long, right?" Tony said, trying to shine some optimism on the situation.

"Yeah, it's going to be worth the wait!" Pepper said, excitedly. Then they noticed everyone else around them suddenly start to look stricken with fear. They stood, frozen in terror for a moment, and then ran screaming. The humble public, wanting to see what would happen next, found safe hiding places. Tony, Pepper and Rhodey just ran back to the armory.

Upon arrival at the lab, Tony rushed into the Iron Man suit. Rhodey rushed to the control station, and Pepper stood by his side; like always.

Tony flew out of the tunnel and into the fresh New York City air. He rushed back over to the pier to see what the looming threat was. The Iron Monger. Tony had gotten very annoyed to this point.

"What this time? World domination?" Iron Man asked. Stane turned in his floating suit of armor and laughed.

"No, Iron Man, this time I'm not. This time is like every other time; I'm just tiring you out." Stane explained.

"Well, it's not working. I'm perfectly ready to take you on, because I was having a good day." Tony said. He was getting super-peeved right now, more so by the minute. Tony launched an attack, and a fight broke out. People gasped at Iron Man's every fall, cheered at his every victory moment, so on so forth.

Minutes later, out of pure anger, Tony finished off the Iron Monger. Flying away in defeat, Iron Man stayed only a brief moment to wave and salute before returning to the armory. Stane's attacks were getting more frequent, and he knew they were going to keep coming until Iron Man gave in; which was a direction Tony was never, ever going to go in. Nothing about that, no amount of Iron Monger attacks, would ever change that.

Tony got out of the suit as soon as he was back at the armory. He stepped into the lab and sat down, sighing.

"He's getting more frequent. I'm going to have to put an end to this, and soon." Tony said. Rhodey and Pepper approached him.

"Yeah, but come on. We're free now, no school, no nothing! We shouldn't be worrying about Iron Man's business on a day like this!" Pepper cheered.

"She's right, you know." Rhodey agreed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tony responded. He stood, and they walked out of the armory.

"So, what do we want to do now?" Tony asked. Pepper smiled.

"I've got an idea." She said. She rushed ahead, signaling for Tony and Rhodey to follow. They shrugged and ran after her.

Pepper ran with excitement to Central Park. She'd heard the other day that there was going to be a massive 'School's out!' concert there, with tons of bands and tons of fun. She knew it would be the perfect way to spend their perfect day, for sure.

Once she reached the park, she stopped and waited for Tony and Rhodey. They were approaching her now, with a confused look on their faces.

"The park? Why are we here?" Rhodey asked. Pepper smiled widely.

"_Because, _silly! There's a **massive **school's out concert here today!" Pepper explained.

"Oh, and let me guess; you've never been to a concert before, have you Tony?" Pepper asked, hands on hips. Tony rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

"Well…no." He answered.

"You are sad. Have you ever had any fun before in your life?"

"Inventing stuff is fun." Tony answered. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, to you." She mused. They walked further into the park and found a huge stage, with prepping bands atop it and adoring fans, all students from local schools, cheering in the audience. There wasn't much to cheer for, but they were still excited to see some of their favorite bands up close and in person. Tony looked on stage for anyone he might have known, or made connections with, through Stark International; or maybe, there was a slight chance, that he'd known some of them from social events. It had a 0.5% chance of that, and by the looks of it, he didn't know any of them. He might know their managers, though. Some of them had come in for help with technical equipment, or some advanced feature they were searching for to use in a concert or music video. And since managers weren't in view at the moment, he'd no way to know.

"Oh my goodness, guys! All my favorites are here!" Pepper cheered. This would be the most exciting and best day of her life. Of course, it would be second best to the day-if that day was ever going to exist-that Tony would admit deeper feelings; kind of like the feelings she had inside her. She'd admitted to herself that yeah, she felt something; but she told herself it was oh-so-tiny. How wrong she is….

"Well, I've heard of these guys, actually." Tony said.

"Oh my goodness, that's a start! You actually know something fun!" Pepper teased.

"Ha-ha." Tony said. Pepper gave a soft laugh. They turned their attention back to the concert as the announcer started talking.

"Welcome, students, to the School's Out Concert!" The announcer started. The crowd cheered. Tony smiled. So far, for him, it was fun. It was no day in the lab, inventing, but it was still feeling good to be out of his lab, not doing work. The first band was announced, and they started playing.

Hours later, the concert was over. It was nearly 6 by now, so they had time for but one more activity.

"So, what now?" Rhodey asked. Tony shrugged. Pepper lit up again.

"We never got to go to that carnival! I bet it's still open." Pepper suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Tony agreed. Rhodey nodded, so they walked back to the pier. The line had died down since they were there earlier in the day. In fact, there was no one in the line by now. They walked through the front gates and looked around to see what would be first. There were tons of booths, with tons of games inside them. Games like popping balloons for a prize, or knocking down three bottles. All of which had stuffed animal prizes. Pepper wanted to try out a few, but didn't have any money for them. Instead, she led her two friends to all the rides she'd wanted to ride; the rides required no money or tickets, or anything. Just the booths and the food stops.

Pepper led the two to all different kinds of roller coasters, and other sorts of rides. She'd wanted this day to be perfect. No further interruptions-AKA Iron Man business-to ruin her day. She'd somehow, throughout the course of the day, gained control of their activities. She wondered if they knew how to have any fun at all; fun, of course, not being Tony's version of fun.

After hours of numerous amounts of carnival rides, the sun was beginning to set and Pepper had one last thing in mind for the perfect day: the perfect walk home for a movie marathon. She felt that she'd been spending real quality time with Tony, and they were bonding more today. There was something about the magic of the last day of school that brought the essence of a perfect day, with dozens of perfect moments, to everyone's hearts. Tons of teens, and kids, all over the city now roamed free. It brought happiness to everyone. Summertime in the city, Pepper thought, was her favorite time of year.

"Oh, I'm so excited! A movie marathon! We're going to pull an all-nighter, and we're going to watch a ton of movies! Oh my goodness, I've never pulled an all-nighter before in my life!" Pepper squealed. It was really getting to be a perfect walk home. The sun was setting in the sky, sending a rainbow of different oranges and purples all over the city, she was having a good conversation with Tony, and the night air was getting that essence of perfection.

"Well I've pulled tons of them working in the lab. It's not that hard, really." Tony said. He knew there was a distinct difference between working all night in a lab, and watching a ton of movies all night with his two closest friends, but he still knew that staying awake all night wasn't really that complicated or difficult.

"Yeah, Tony, you're going to have to help me stay awake here! Although I'm sure I'll be able to stay up on my own, but still. Sitting and watching movies all night, it can make me tired! Then again, it'd make anyone tired. Unless they were running on, like, 10 cups of coffee. Then they'd be pretty energetic!" Pepper was about to continue when she was interrupted, as usual.

"Pepper. Don't talk so much!" Tony said, smiling. She laughed, and Tony joined in. That's what he was saying on the outside, but on the inside he still enjoyed hearing her soothing voice; even if it was high and perky, it sounded soft and soothing and sweet to him. He kept that to himself for the faintest of reasons.

"But you know I like to talk!" Pepper giggled out.

Rhodey simply listened to his friends communicating so frequently, not getting a word in because he enjoyed hearing their relationship as friends get stronger. He knew they had something, but they just wouldn't admit it. Maybe Pepper had admitted it to herself, but wouldn't say it aloud. And Tony was just too darn oblivious to girls and dating to see it. He was oblivious to a lot of things, though. Still, he hoped that someday Tony would open his eyes and see what he had right in front of him; relationship wise, that is.

They arrived at the Rhodes' house and gathered in Tony's room. They were deciding on what movies to watch, which ones were good and bad, and finally agreed on at least three movies. After the three, they'd watch a little late night TV and see what movies or shows were playing. Not much, they were guessing, but still; there had to be something.

Rhodey made two bags of popcorn, enough to last them through three movies, and Tony popped in the first movie. Since he knew everything and anything there was to know about technology, he knew how to skip right over all the previews and right to the movie. He sat on the couch, Pepper sat to Tony's left, and Rhodey to Tony's right. Pepper had just wanted to be next to Tony.

Before they put the movie in, Tony went to the bathroom. Not a real surprise to anyone, really. Rhodey noticed Pepper observing dreamily Tony's back as he walked away. He smiled.

"You like him, don't you?" Rhodey said. Pepper blushed furiously.

"Wh-what? Me? Why would I..? Pshh, no! I don't! Not that way, at least!" Pepper stammered. Rhodey raised an eyebrow.

"Pepper, I've noticed the way you act around Tony. Nervous, blabby and talkative, I can even see you blushing. It's kind of obvious if you look real close at it." Rhodey said. Pepper sighed and gave in to her friend's good, good point.

"Yes, ok? I do. I like him. Happy now?" Pepper admitted. Rhodey smiled.

"HA! I _knew it_!" He cheered.

"Please, Rhodey, I'm begging you! Don't tell him, please!" Pepper begged.

"Fine, fine, I won't tell. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you, so so so much!" She said.

"You should tell him, though. It's the perfect night to just come out with it." Rhodey suggested.

"What, me? No, I could never do that…" Pepper said, shyly.

"Sure you can!" Rhodey enthused. Pepper pondered the idea.

"Maybe…"

Tony came out of the bathroom and rejoined his friends. He popped in the first movie and started playing it. Pepper sat at his left, Rhodey at his right. Just like they'd planned. While Tony concentrated on his super-fast forwarding, Rhodey motioned to Pepper for her to tell him. She shook her head and mouthed to him 'not now!' Rhodey shrugged and turned back to the screen. Pepper sat back and relaxed to watch the first movie.

After they'd gotten halfway through the third movie, Pepper was growing tired. She rested her head on Tony's shoulder. He didn't do anything, instead just let it rest there. It was the perfect ending to her perfect day.

**Well, obviously these last few chapters have been pure fluff. It's just a story about the numerous attacks by Iron Monger, and furthering the Pepperony relationship. Reviewwww!**


	5. Talking It Over

**Long time no see! Well, **_**read**_** is more like it cuz we don't physically **_**see **_**each other…lol you all get my drift!**

As the surrounding noises filled into Tony's ears, he fluttered his eyes opened and blissfully looked around. He was still in the living room, sitting on the couch; just the way he'd fallen asleep. He looked next to him and noticed Rhodey was just waking, too. He looked to his other side and noticed Pepper, head on his shoulder and still sleeping. She was about to wake up, too, anyways.

"I'd forgotten we fell asleep here." Tony half-whispered to Rhodey. Rhodey looked over to Tony and remembered he'd fallen asleep.

"Me too." Rhodey responded. He got up off the couch.

"Do you want any breakfast?" Rhodey asked before departing to the kitchen. Tony looked back to Pepper for a moment then turned back to Rhodey.

"I can get myself some as soon as Pepper here wakes up." Tony said. Rhodey shrugged and left to get himself breakfast. A moment later, Pepper stirred and fluttered her eyes open. She stretched her arms, forgetting that she was accidently hitting Tony.

"Uhh, you mind?" Tony piped in, outstretched arm in his face. Pepper looked over to him and giggled.

"Oh, I totally forgot you were there!" Pepper exclaimed.

"It's ok; I forgot we fell asleep here too." Tony said. Pepper smiled and lifted her head. Tony stood and offered a hand to her to get up. Taking it, she stood and they walked to the kitchen (releasing their hands after an awkward silent moment, of course,) and met Rhodey for breakfast. Then Pepper noticed Rhodey shaking his head towards the oblivious and currently stuffing-his-face Tony, suggesting she tell him. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. She noticed Tony start to stuff his face more quickly, and laughed.

"Slow down, Tony, the world isn't ending tomorrow!" Pepper teased. Tony mocked a laugh and slowed his face stuffing.

"Sometimes I spend so much time working I forget what it's like to eat." He explained, smiling to Pepper.

"Tony, you're the only person I know who could do that." Pepper teased. Tony nudged her arm softly and playfully, let out a light chuckle and continued eating.

After breakfast was over, Pepper went home, knowing her dad would be worried that she'd been out all night. He could be pretty strict at times, but other times he was caring and not so strictly 'it's all about the rules, dude.' He had a tendency to mix his 'working-Potts' with his 'family-Potts'.

As Pepper walked in the door, she noticed her dad standing in the kitchen, drinking milk straight from the carton. Pepper smiled. "Same old dad." Pepper teased. Virgil put the milk back in the fridge and turned to face his cheerful, and more than usual, daughter.

"So, was your all-nighter fun?" He asked. Pepper's smile grew wider and a dreamy look swept across her face.

"Oh, dad, it was wonderful! I mean, we had so much fun and even if Rhodey was there, Tony was paying more attention to me than him, and he always let me choose what we did, and oh, it was just so much fun! It was the perfect day!" Pepper explained. Virgil smiled.

"It sounds like you had quite some fun with your little boyfriend." Virgil smiled. Pepper's eyes widened and she blushed furiously.

"D-dad, we're not…me and…me and Tony? What? No, we're friends; I don't even like him that way!" Pepper choked out. Virgil crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, suggesting that wasn't the truth.

"Yeah, so why are you blushing?" He asked. Pepper looked away to hide her rosy pink cheeks.

"I don't….come on, dad, you know I don't…" Pepper lied to herself and her father; deep inside she knew that she was in love with Tony Stark, and no one else. She knew that she couldn't spend her life with anyone but him. Virgil raised his eyebrow higher.

"Alright, _**FINE!**_ So maybe I do like him a little…" Pepper caved. Virgil put a hand on Pepper's shoulder.

"Pepper, it's okay if you like this boy." Virgil complied with his daughter's feelings. Pepper looked up at her father and sighed.

"I know, dad, but it just makes me so nervous sometimes. I mean, come on! He's _Tony Stark_, rich billionaire _genius _behind a _huge _company, Stark International, following his dad's footsteps! And not to mention that with all his good looks, personality _and_ smarts, there are like, hundreds of other crazed girls who would die if they got the chance to just poke him! I mean, not that _I'm _one of them, because I said _other _crazed girls, and I'm definitely NOT crazed…" Pepper went on. Virgil interrupted.

"Honey, you're overlooking this. All those other girls can only see the outside. You've seen the inside, the real Tony Stark. I bet you're the only girl he trusts as a close friend." Virgil comforted. Pepper smiled.

"I guess you're right, dad. But there is one other girl…_Whitney…._who's close with him. But she's always flirting with him and it's disgusting! He doesn't even notice, either…" Pepper complained.

"Well, it sounds like you're a bit jealous." Virgil suggested. Pepper caved once more.

"Well, yeah, a little…" She admitted. Virgil smiled.

"I'm sure he'll come to his senses in no time." He comforted.

"Well, I'd have to say; I'm impressed, dad, you really know what to say!" Pepper congratulated.

"Well, that's the advice I heard when I was a boy. Let's just say I learned to eavesdrop on my sister a long, long time ago." Virgil smiled at all the memories he suddenly recalled.

"You _eavesdropped_ on Aunt Christy?" Pepper asked. Virgil nodded proudly.

"Now I know where I get my sneaky curiosity from." Pepper teased.

"Well, anyways; what's up?" And so their day went on together.

Tony stood crouched over his armor, welding a leg back on to it while Rhodey looked around stuff on the computer; meanwhile, scanning police reports for trouble. Then he heard one concerning one that Iron Man was involved in.

"Tony…?" Rhodey spoke. Tony turned the welding torch off, lifted his goggles and turned to Rhodey.

"Yeah?" Tony responded.

"There are reports of the Iron Monger attacking downtown." Rhodey explained. Tony nodded and lowered the mark01 armor. Getting inside it, Tony sighed in annoyance. He closed the face mask after the armor engulfed Tony's body in red and gold iron. Tony flew out of the tunnel and into the bright afternoon sky.

"I really have to put an end to his frequent attacks." Tony said.

"Yeah, how are you going to do that?" Rhodey asked.

"I could wipe his memory or something, and then take his suit from him. Or I could get Whitney to…" Tony suggested. He shook off the idea; for one, Whitney would be suspicious of connections between Tony and Iron Man; second, he didn't want to drag her into the issue, and get her involved. She could get in trouble somehow, in some way. And he didn't want to do that to her.

"Nah, we can't do that. Never mind." Tony wiped away the idea completely. Besides, he was becoming a bit too dependent on her to get him information he needs on Obadiah Stane. She may be a good source, but he could use some other, better ones too.

"I don't know what to do, if I can't find a way to wipe his memory. I can try, though." Tony said, talking more to himself than Rhodey.

"Dude, how would you do that?" Rhodey asked.

"I don't really know." Tony answered. Finally Tony spotted the silver suit of armor he was looking for.

"Why don't you just stop all this frequent attacking? It's wearing me down." Iron Man stated. Iron Monger turned ever so gracefully to face Iron Man, and smiled behind his iron mask.

"That's my intention. You have a few choices, here, Iron Man. You can surrender your suit of armor to me, come work for me, or you can perish. Take your pick." Stane kept his smug smirk on his face, even though no one could see it.

"None of the above." Iron Man said, charging at the Iron Monger. Tony fired a repulsor at Stane, sending the Iron Monger flying back a few feet. The fight raged on, and Tony finally scared Stane off; once again, only for now. He'd get working on a mind eraser of some sort immediately. Not to mention he'd have to sneak into Stark International and wipe all memory on all the computers and from all the scientists of the schematics for the armor, and anything else relating to the Iron Man armor. Oh, this was going to be hard.

**That's all for now, and for today. I have a band concert at 7, and as of now it's almost 6. I gotta get ready & eat dinner too soon to complete another chapter, but you should check out my crossover! I finally posted it! And don't fear—my 'Taking Over' sequel is ALMOST here! I'm too lazy, procrastina…tioning? Procrastinating? To write it up, but I'm getting to it. Review!**


	6. Coming Up With A Plan

**Hey peeps. Sorry this probably got second paged…I totally forgot about it! Haha! My badddd.**

Tony was hunched over his workbench, sitting on a stool. He was working on the mind eraser that he had spent a whole week and a half coming up with working schematics of. It had taken him that long to design a working one, and now he was working on building it. He wouldn't get up for meals, or for nighttime, or if his friends wanted him to get out of his lab and have some fun for once in his life. No; there was no time for that. Stane was getting more and more frequent with his attacks, and his work was sometimes interrupted by an attack. It angered Tony, and it was wearing him down to the last straw. When was it going to end? What was his plan? Exhaust him into revealing his identity?

Well, what was so bad about that? Would he really have a problem with revealing to the world that Tony Stark was Iron Man? He'd thought it would be at least a little obvious to other people. No one else he knew was smart enough to design a working suit of armor, so why wasn't he a suspect? Tony thought he was asking himself way too many questions and he told himself that was because Pepper was rubbing off _way _too much. He laughed at his remark.

The lab door opened, and in walked Pepper. Rhodey would have been with Tony, but he was getting tired of Tony just working over Rhodey's talking all the time. He was ignoring both his friends, and it was starting to get on Rhodey's nerves. So he didn't come in as often.

But Pepper, oh she was a different story. She could never just stop seeing Tony in his lab, and she felt sometimes that he actually did pay attention to her when she was talking to him. Even if he didn't like to before, she felt that there were those moments where he liked just listening to her, and she liked just talking to him.

In truth, the only reason she could come up with to why she talks so much around Tony, is that for some reason, he makes her nervous, like she was disabled from talking to cute boys.

_Not that I think of him that way, of course._

Pepper stood across the workbench from Tony.

"Are you ever going to stop?" She asked.

"When I'm done with it, yeah." Tony said, without looking up at her. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"You can be such a workaholic sometimes, Tony. I swear…" She complained. She silenced herself before she went too far.

"Well, hey, I need to get this done. It's almost complete anyways, lighten up," Tony looked up into her eyes, "I promise, after this is all done and over with, I'll have get out and have some fun. OK?" Tony continued looking into her eyes while he waited for her answer.

"Fine. Deal." Pepper said, thinking it was a compromise, so it would have to work for now. She'd get him to have some real fun, though. Tony looked back down to his work and continued working on it. He only had to install one last piece, and it would finally be done. Then he would have to sneak into Stark International, find where they had the schematics for their suit on the computers, and totally erase it before he was caught. The idea of having Whitney help kept popping in and out of his head, but he knew she still didn't remember anything; which Pepper was enjoying, but why, he would never know. She was a mystery sometimes, and she could get to be like a complicated piece of it, and if he had that piece, it would all be clear to him. But he was the only one of the three that didn't know what that missing puzzle piece was: _her heart._ Rhodey, and Pepper, knew how totally oblivious Tony was to girls' feelings. He never even knew that Whitney liked him, too. It was sad, and Rhodey sometimes made fun of Tony for it, but Tony never understood what he was talking about, so it was a lost cause by now. Some things with Tony were just that: a lost cause.

Pepper wouldn't give up, though. She knew that somewhere inside, Tony was a romantic guy. He flirted without knowing it, and it made Pepper laugh. She admitted, he was funny without ever intending to be. He could make her laugh at the most sad moments in her life; he made her happier than anyone else could, and she loved him. Most of all, only him and forever him. She'd never leave his side, no matter if she was just a friend or something more. Maybe someday, she told herself, they would take a step further. **(A/N: as my friend said before she started dating her x-bf, 'friends with benefits'. I don't get that….)** Maybe, someday, they would be something more; but that was the key word, _maybe._ She could never get her hopes up too high, because Tony could possibly never take that step. That was why she always came to the lab with Tony, even when all he did was work.

"Ha! It's done!" Tony shouted. He held it up and took a good long look at it.

"Now, If only I could test it. And how am I going to destroy that armor? _And,_ how am I going to get into Stark International long enough to erase all schematics of it?" Tony asked questions, mainly to himself.

"I don't know." Pepper responded. They stood in silence.

"Well, I need to test this thing before I use it. Not that it wouldn't work or anything, because I'm a genius and all." Tony bragged. Pepper laughed.

"You are such a show-off!" She teased. He smiled.

"Well, better safe than sorry, I always say." He thought of all the possible guinea pigs, then came to a conclusion. He could either get Happy to test it on, since he had nothing to lose anyways, or Pepper; because he could _guarantee_ she had at least one thought worth forgetting. He decided on Pepper, because if he used Happy he'd probably have to do another month of his science homework; and he really _didn't _want to do that.

"Well, you're the only one I'd test this on." Tony blushed when he realized what he'd just said, and Pepper too once his words sunk in.

"Uhh, okay." She giggled to herself.

_If only he'd gotten rid of the words 'test it on', with 'be with', it would be perfect. _

Tony flipped the switch to 'erase', and dialed the amount of memory lost to a minimal, micro dosage. He pulled the trigger and a yellow beam of light shot into Pepper's brain. The 'micro-dosage' he'd given her, would only erase one memory; one that wasn't very important to her. The memory played in her mind one last time before forgetting.

**Flashbackkk!**

_A little girl, about the age of three, was sitting on a navy blue carpet completing a 'The Little Mermaid' puzzle while her mother sat on the couch, reading the newspaper. The little strawberry girl put the last piece into the cardboard puzzle and laughed and clapped at her success. She stood up and ran over to her mother on the couch, and pulled on her pant leg._

"_Mommy, mommy, look! I finished it!" The little girl pointed at the completed puzzle on the floor._

"_Good job, Pepper!" The mother congratulated._

"_What should we do now?" The little girl asked her mother._

"_I don't know, sweetie; what do you want to do?" The mother asked her hyper three year old. The little girl thought for a moment, then sat on the floor miserably._

"_I want to play with daddy." The little girl pouted._

"_I know, honey. I know." The mother picked up her little girl and hugged her in her lap. She looked at her watch and realized it was time to get ready for work. _

"_Oops! I'm going to be late if I don't hurry." The mother stood and carried her daughter to the mother's room, and sat her on the bed while she went into her closet and changed into her work clothes. She worked as a nurse at the hospital, and she worked from noon to six; which meant Pepper, her hyper three year old, went to day care during those hours. The days her husband wasn't called into work, she kept Pepper home. But if he were called in during her work hours, he'd absolutely not go to work before dropping Pepper off at day care._

_The mother picked up her daughter and carried her down to the garage and into her car seat. She buckled in the three year old, and got into her own seat. She buckled, put the keys in the ignition, and drove off._

_The day care was a few blocks down, so it didn't really take long to get there. Once they arrived, the mother got her daughter out of the car and walked in the door to day care._

"_I've got Pepper here until about six." She explained to the lady working there._

"_Ok, that's great! Goodbye!" The lady took Pepper in her arms and the two watched the young, in-her-twenties mother walk off. She had the same red hair as the little girl, and the two looked a lot alike. _

"_Alright, Pepper, run off and have fun, ok?" The lady put Pepper on the ground and watched her run off._

_The little hyper three year old noticed something as she grabbed a playmate and a dolly. There was a little boy sitting in the corner, moping. He had brown hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing denim overalls, with a red shirt underneath. He looked miserable and sad, so she put down her dolly and excused herself for a moment. She walked over to the little boy in the corner, and stood in front of him for a moment, shy to speaking._

"_Hey, is something wrong? You look sad." She asked. The little boy looked up at the red-haired girl standing over him. He didn't answer for a moment._

"_I'm only here because my mommy just died and my daddy can't watch me." The boy explained. The little girl was shocked. He had no mommy anymore; and she knew how much she loved her own mommy, and how much every kid loves their mommy, and how terrible it is to lose her._

"_I'm so sorry, little boy!" The girl bent over and gave the boy a big hug. It made him feel better, but not completely better. Once she let go, he smiled and she offered a hand out to him. He grabbed it and stood._

"_Do you want to play with me?" She asked. He nodded._

"_You want to know how smart I am?" He asked. She nodded in curiosity. He started to tell her about everything he knew in his little mind as they laughed and played together._

**Flashback enddd!**

As the memory played back, it erased itself. Once the scene had already shown, it disappeared, to be gone forever. Then the memory was fully erased. She couldn't remember it. Then, Tony flipped the switch back to 'remember', and pulled the trigger again. As she remembered the memory once more, she realized why she was so drawn to talk to him on his first day of school; he'd looked so familiar to her, but she just couldn't remember where she knew him from. She knew he was Tony Stark, famous genius billionaire, but she felt she knew him quite some time before that. Of course, that was what Tony realized that first day, too; that he'd seen this girl somewhere before, somewhere before his life was known to everyone in the world as much as he was today.

"So, did it work?" He asked. Pepper nodded.

"What memory was it?" He asked out of curiosity. She smiled.

"The day we met, in day care." She explained. Tony smiled in reaction.

"Oh, I remember that day." He recalled it in his mind. It was, by far, his favorite memory. He'd hate to forget it. It would be the death of him if he ever did.

They talked more of that dear, sweet day, until an alert came that the Iron Monger was downtown. Tony suited up and prepared to start phase one of his plan.

**Well, that's all for now. Cute memory! I bet she hated forgetting it because it was so darn cute. I mean, two little kids first meeting? How is that not cute? Lol, review!**


	7. Rhodey's Got a Plan of His Own

**Heyya there peoples! What up? I have to update this story, Growing Up, and two stories I just posted on fictionpress. (Newly discovered in my life! Same username. Crazytomboy78.) **

Tony, flying downtown in his Iron Man suit, hid his mind erasing laser behind his back. His oh-so-master plan was under way right now.

The plan, in detail, was that while Tony was occupying Stane downtown in a fight, Rhodey and Pepper would sneak into Stark International and, with Tony's instructions, given before they left, they would hack into the computer systems, which Tony of course, told them how to do, and erase all memory of schematics for any suit of armor of any kind; and anything else they found on a suit of armor.

Downtown, Tony would try his hardest to get the armor away from Stane. It was going well so far, he was about to ready, aim, fire directly to Stane's skull, fully erasing memory of the armor; except one minor detail: it wasn't going as easily as he thought it would. Rhodey was remembering everything Tony had instructed him to do, but Pepper was distracting, talkative, loud, and totally not being sneaky.

In all honesty, Rhodey didn't have a clue as to how Tony could tolerate Pepper; but then, he did. He knew something they may not know: that they're in love with each other, whether they realize or not. Tony can only tolerate Pepper's hyper and talkative personality because he was in love with her. Pepper could only tolerate Tony's workaholic-ness and cockiness, and inevitable sense of humor because she loved him. He didn't feel that exact same way for his two friends; it was more of a sisterly/brotherly kind of love. And technically, Tony _is _his brother now. Not through blood relation, or marriage; legally, yes. But it wasn't that detail that linked them as brothers. It was their general friendship, the level of closeness that was in it.

They had a special bond, unlike any other and he knew it was too strong to be broken, no matter what they went through; and as for Pepper, she was annoying and all, but she was like a sister and she was going to be someday because Rhodey could tell that her and Tony would someday hook up and stay together long enough for Tony to realize he doesn't want to lose her.

Rhodey admitted, it was a sad fact that he knew all of this before the two of them actually did, but when it finally went off in their brains he'd rub it in that he'd known that for a long time now.

Then he got an idea of his own. He smiled devilishly. He thought through the plan very carefully, working out every detail in his mind while snooping around Stark International, Pepper following and curious as to what was going on in Rhodey's head to make him make that face. She knew now was not the time for it, and left the question to be asked later.

Rhodey got to a room with the labeled 'CEO and accompanied employees only' on it. He hacked the lock and snooped inside. There were advanced computers in the room, and Rhodey recalled Tony's specific directions and went through each step.

Downtown, Tony's fight wasn't going too well. Stane was winning so far, and it wasn't easy to convince him to give in. Tony had to drop the mind-erasing laser inside the suit, and he was having a tough time accessing it. He was trying to reach for it inside his armor and defend himself at the same time.

After he'd finally reached it, he pulled it out with a successful 'a-hah!', but unsuccessfully dropped it. His face fell as the key to the whole plan fell hurdling towards the ground; and he was in no position to save it from the cruel fate of gravity.

Thankfully, a nearby citizen caught it and threw it back to Iron Man. Tony saluted the man in a suit and a smile, and the man in the suit gave a thumbs up back. Tony aimed the laser at Stane and quickly fired, sending the Iron Monger hurdling towards the ground now. Iron Man warned nearby citizens to move out of the path of destruction, A.K.A the area where, and the area around where the Iron Monger was to land after gravity and its opposing forces **(A/N: yeah, a science thing.) **Did their job.

It was like Tony had the whole population of NYC at his knees, because they pended to his every command and listened perfectly. They depended on Iron Man to keep them safe from the cruel forces of evil in the city, and Iron Man did exactly that. He devoted half his life to protecting the lives of others, as he could not do with his father; all until he realized his father was alive and captured, which made his case even worse; now he deepened the grief that he knew that he could not save his own father from those same forces of evil.

Rhodey's side of the plan went smoothly, all until on their way out; they were caught on tape and were being chased by guards. They awaited Tony to rescue them, but that was due to happen a while later.

On Tony's side, he was almost done. He was telling a forgetting Obadiah Stane that he didn't own that suit of armor and he needed to turn it over to him immediately. Stane, seemingly innocent, handed the suit over. The city, watching the Iron Monger reveal himself as Obadiah Stane, CEO of Stark International, gawked and immediately began mistrust of him.

While running from guards tiredly in Stark International, they heard the knocking-through-a-wall sound of Iron Man coming to their rescue. Iron Man quickly scooped them up and flew them out.

Bringing them back to the armory, Tony got out of his suit and put the Iron Monger suit in a containment unit in the armory, and putting his mind control laser next to it, he celebrated a victory on the side of Iron Man. No more Iron Monger disruptions, nothing. There was only one thing left to do…

Rhodey's carefully thought through plan was this:

Step one was to tell Tony and Pepper that they each liked the other and that they were perfect together and to get them convinced that they should be together. Step two was to get Tony and Pepper alone somewhere, somehow, and make sure there's no way they get out until they're together. Step three was to watch what happens while they're alone, and see how well it goes. The last step, simply tell them he knew it would happen someday.

Rhodey approached Tony and pulled him out of earshot of Pepper.

"Dude, one thing…" Rhodey began.

"Yeah? What's up?" Tony asked.

"Do you like Pepper?" Rhodey asked. Tony's eyes widened and he grew very nervous.

"What? Why would you ask that? We…we're just…friends!" Tony stammered nervously.

"Doesn't look that way to me…" Rhodey smiled to himself. It was going well.

"W-well….how does it look to you?" Tony asked.

"Oh, to me? I see two people who are in love but are too blind to realize it. It's like you were meant to be." Rhodey explained. Hey, it was true. That's how he saw it.

"Maybe…."

Rhodey smiled. So far his plan was going very well.

Later, Rhodey walked over to Pepper and took part two of his plan under way. Since he'd already had the 'you like him, don't you?' talk with her, he didn't need to say much.

"Hey, you know, if you like him you should just tell him." Rhodey encouraged.

"What? NO! I could never do that, no…" Pepper whispered back. They looked at Tony, who was doing stuff on his computers; not paying attention. His mind was elsewhere.

"And why not?" Rhodey asked.

"Because! He probably doesn't even feel the same way; I mean, suppose he did. It could go bad and ruin our friendship!" Pepper whispered. Rhodey laughed to himself.

"Pepper, come on. Be serious. That wouldn't happen," Rhodey smiled, "And besides. I think he likes you too…" Rhodey laughed to himself. Pepper gasped and her eyes widened. She was speechless. She was void of words to say, stuck on the thought that her friend, a person she'd never expected to fall in love with, would feel the same way back.

So she didn't respond, but instead stared at Tony.

**INTERESANTE! That's cool, right? Like, just one more chapter then this story is ovarr. Lol, review!**


	8. Epilouge: His Plan In Action

**Hey! I bet you're all exited for this update (: I know a few ppl who are, lol. Well, only four more stories left to update…): but hey, good news is that I've finished two stories today! This one and my crossover, YAY! Less work!**

Tony felt a pair of eyes bore into him, but ignored it.

"I, uhh, have to go back to the house, left something in my room." Rhodey backed out of the lab and pressed his ear against the closed lab door from the outside.

"Something wrong, there, Pepper?" Tony asked, nervous. His previous chat with Rhodey left him dazed.

"N-no! No, I'm…umm, fine!" Pepper said, snapping out of her stare.

"Well, umm…okay then." Tony turned back to his work.

"Tony?"

"Yahh?" Tony responded, not bothering to look up from his work.

"Could you give me some advice on something?" Pepper asked. Tony turned and leaned on the base of his computer next to the keyboard.

"Yeah, sure." He responded, clueless.

"So, I know this isn't your thing, but, there's this guy at school that I kind of, you know…like a little, and…"

"Oh…" Tony felt a little jealous. Rhodey had lied to him! She liked some other guy! "Who's the dude?" Tony asked.** (A/N: Oh, Tony…you're such an idiot.)**

Pepper rubbed her forehead with her forefinger and thumb. She walked up to him and playfully smacked his arm.

"YOU, stupid!" She said. Tony rubbed his arm where she hit him and smiled goofily. **(A/N: haha, ironic moment #2! Falling For You by Colbie Calliet is playing as I write this.)**

"Oh. In that case, I think that boy likes you too…" Tony said back. She smiled. Tony leaned in and kissed her.

"So…you only like me a little?" Tony asked, smiling.

"Well, ok, that was a lie…I actually love you, a lot." Pepper smiled.

"Me too." Tony said.

**The end! Ok, that might have been the shortest chapter in FF history, but idc. It needed to be said, and I felt like saying it in a new chapter. Haha (: review!**


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